Privação ou Liberdade ? Por uma crítica espinosista da “liberdade negativa”

Abstract

In his response to William of Blyenbergh, Spinoza in his letter number 21 meditates on the status of evil and deprivation in their theological and political meanings. How can error and sin be derived from God's perfection? How can human imperfection be analyzed from a juridical and political point of view and what are its consequences for the relationship between free will, freedom and guilt? Our aim in this article is to articulate Spinoza's considerations and take them to their consequences in political philosophy, using the distinction proposed by the Anglo-Russian philosopher Isaiah Berlin between negative and positive freedom.